New station to cut city travel times

The new Park West and Cherry Orchard station in Dublin which will be opened today, ahead of schedule, by Transport Minister Noel
Dempsey. It will cut travel times to Heuston Station to just six minutes

A NEW railway station offering 25 daily trains into the heart of Dublin will open today.

Commuters living in the Cherry Orchard area of West Dublin will now be able to travel to Heuston Station in just six minutes.

The Park West and Cherry Orchard Station, which will be officially opened by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, has been delivered ahead of schedule and under a public private partnership with Harcourt Developments.

It forms part of the €350m Kildare route project, which will see four tracks in place by its completion date of 2010.

The project is among the biggest being undertaken to enhance commuter capacity in the Greater Dublin area.

It will treble capacity for commuters on the lines into Heuston Station, with the potential to generate up to seven million additional passenger journeys each year by providing two dedicated lines for commuter services, and two lines for Intercity and regional services.

"The Kildare Route Project is being delivered on schedule and on budget, and its completion, and the major capacity benefits it will deliver, are now only 18 months away," an Iarnrod Eireann spokesman said.

The Clondalkin Fonthill Station will open in the autumn, when an enlarged Hazelhatch Station will also be ready. Kishogue station will open in 2010.